During borehole forming operations as well as subsequent work which may be carried out on boreholes wherein a well derrick is positioned over the borehole, it is necessary to handle thousands of feet of tubular goods such as drill pipe, production tubing, casing, and the like. The sections or "joints" of pipe are extremely heavy and dangerous to handle. Transporting the tubular goods from the derrick floor to the pipe rack, and vice versa, constitutes one of the most hazardous aspects of a well boring operation. The various sections of pipe are generally "laid down" in horizontal rows in side-by-side relationship at a location spaced apart from the drilling derrick, and the pipe must be transferred to and from the derrick floor, as necessary. On the other hand, when coming out of the hole with tubular goods, each joint must be broken down from the string of pipe and returned to the pipe rack. Sometime more than 500 joints of drill pipe and drill collar pipe must be handled, and accordingly, a vast amount of labor is expended in racking the pipe.
Various pipe handling apparatus for transferring pipe from a drilling rig floor to a pipe rack are known to those skilled in the art, as evidenced by the patents to Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 2,113,270; Maydew, U.S. Pat. No. 2,852,147; and Freeman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,169,645; to which reference is made for further background of the present invention. However, these prior art devices employ apparatus having a rigid trussed framework with rails thereon, all of which must be transported to and erected at the drilling rig site. The prior art pipe handling equipment occupies a considerable amount of the work area in close proximity to the drilling rig. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a device for transporting pipe between the derrick floor and the pipe rack wherein the apparatus can be used for transporting casing as well as drill pipe and other tubular goods while at the same time the area immediately adjacent the drilling rig is left unencumbered by equipment. It is also desirable to provide apparatus of this nature which is economical to fabricate, efficient in operation, and easy to erect at the drilling site.